Carrots
by tenkage onna
Summary: Yahiko had intended to get something to eat, not have an emotional conversation with Kenshin.


;;; yeah i know, major shouta, but its onesided ;;

warnings- spoilers

reasons- i've been wanting to make a book to this pairing. i blame emily for even insunuating this pairing.

rating- light g

pairings- barely there yahiko/kenshin, you can just see it if you squint.

summary- yahiko had intended to get something to eat, not have an emotional conversation with kenshin.

disclaimer- not my show. i only WISH it was ne!

read on! and dont flame me for this, flame chibichew! she said she liked the pairing, which drove me to reading and writing this!!!!!!!!! i blame her T.T

It was around noon, and the day was warm with spring. On such a nice day most people were out shopping or visiting friends, and normally that'd mean Yahiko would usually be pickpocketing. however, it had been an entire week since Yahiko actually done so. It had been seven days since Kenshin had come and saved him, one week since Yahiko had had the miracle(or mistake) of being saved from his fate as a pickpocket. In those long one hundred sixty eight hours, Yahiko found himself becoming bitter with himself.

On days like this he simply sat on the floor of his room in the dojo and sulked. "i should have been able to save myself." he would say to himself, and think endlessly about how he could have saved himself so much embarrassment if he hadn't met Kenshin, if that bastard hadn't ever come to the Yakuza and forcefully taken him home with him. Sure he'd still be stealing to pay off a nonexistent debt, but he would have had his dignity left. Every time the name "Kenshin" popped into his head he had conflicting feelings of hate and love. Hate for saving him like he was some kind of damsel in distress. Love for caring enough to save him, and take him to the dojo, letting him live here, fighting for him.

So there he sat, in his room staring at the opposite wall, not really seeing it. Yahiko hadn't eaten very much this morning, only sneaking from his room to get a snack from the kitchen. Well it wasn't much of sneaking really. His stomach grumbled and the boy frowned, tearing his gaze from the wall and standing up. Off to the kitchen it was, he thought. So, off to the kitchen he went, walking slowly despite his hunger. He fell back into thought rather quickly. The dojo was still kind of new to him, and he didn't want to overstep his boundaries here. He didn't really know if it was okay to sneak food here, nor was he sure if he even had the right to ask for food before lunch. Kenshin and Kaoru seemed pretty nice, but that didn't mean they wouldn't kick him out or something. Secretly, he was just a bit afraid of Kenshin, what with who he was. He was afraid one day he'd piss him off and he'd be diced smaller than the carrots in the stew he had eaten yesterday. Therefore he was also a tad afraid to eat without permission.

Inside the kitchen, Yahiko found Kenshin leaning over the counter and grabbing a knife from the holder to cut some vegetables. As he watched him cut a radish in half he swallowed thickly and decided maybe he could wait, because Kenshin looked busy, and if he was busy he really didn't want to disturb him and he could walk away right now and Kenshin would never know he had been here intending to snatch some food. As he turned to walk away he heard a voice say his name in surprise.

"Yahiko?"

Yahiko flinched and turned around quickly to smile nervously at the redhead, "Oh hi Kenshin! I was just passing by, so I should be on my way-"

"You wanted something to eat ne?"

The boy blinked and let his eyes dart towards the hall he was walking down, then back to Kenshin and the large kitchen knife he held. The man seemed to trace Yahiko's gaze and let a warm smile stretch across his face, as if he knew what was going through the boy's head.

"I wont hurt you." He said calmly, a slight cheery tone in his voice.

Yahiko felt embarrassed at being read so easily, but didn't take his eyes from the knife. "You killed alota people, huh?"

Kenshin let his smile turn sad and small, and he looked at the large blade, not really seeing it. The boy watched as the redhead inspected the metal, the only thing keeping it from shining being the vegetable juice coating its edge. His eyes held a heavy melancholy look, and they were far off. Suddenly feeling very uncomfortable with the silence, Yahiko fidgeted uncomfortably.

"Yes, I did." Kenshin answered quietly.

A few moments passed in silence, and the two males simply stared off into space, thinking. About the past mostly, and Yahiko thought that maybe Kenshin wasn't so scary. What with the sad smile and sad violet eyes, who could possibly begin to think that this man was a feared killer? Yahiko looked Kenshin over, trying to find at least one sign that Kenshin was the monster he had heard of. There was nothing outwardly frightening or deadly looking about him, besides his taste in clothing. He thought for a moment that maybe, just maybe, there was nothing to fear of Kenshin.

Yahiko pretended to be slightly annoyed, "Your not nearly a frightening as the rumors say you are."

The man blinked once and looked over at the ten year old in surprise. He let out a soft laugh and smiled, "No...I am. But I'd never hurt a friend."

The boy caught the look of friendliness and looked away with a blush and replied, "Well of course not. Your not heartless." He muttered.

He heard soft footsteps and looked to see Kenshin in front of him with a gentle hand on his messy black hair, and a large warm smile. "Thank you Yahiko. That...means a lot to me."

A thicker blush covered Yahiko's face and he swatted at the hand and crossed his arms irritably, "I'm notta kid. No patting the head." He muttered softly.

Kenshin laughed in amusement and nodded, "Yes, yes. I agree. Kids dont act as mature as Yahiko does."

"Darn right."

"Well, I have to get back to work. That stew wont cook itself." The redhead said lightly and walked over to the counter where an unfinished cut radish sat, and instead of cutting the vegetable, he reached over and picked up a carrot and held it out to Yahiko. The boy blinked once before remembering why he had come here. He walked over and accepted the carrot from the man, and for some reason he felt as if he had just made some sort of promise. On his way back to his room Yahiko took a bite out of the orange vegetable and chewed thoughtfully.

Maybe, he didn't hate Kenshin nearly as much as he loved him, and maybe Kenshin wasn't nearly as scary as he thought. He felt as if he had learned something new about the redheaded man. He wasn't nearly as bad as he was made out to be, Yahiko thought as he walked outside and decided to walk around town.

yeah, i know, it doesn't really match up very much does it? but, i just figured, hey, maybe this should be more of an understanding book more than a romance soap XDD


End file.
